


Broken Bonds

by livbean



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, F/M, Gen, Kieran is trying, Lauren ain't happy with Mr. White, Sort of canon divergence, angst? crack?, background blanket fort, oh no! the power's out! let's hug., power outage cuddles but not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:15:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26384752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livbean/pseuds/livbean
Summary: Kieran and Lauren had not planned for a blizzard, nor the cold that came with it.
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair & Kieran White, Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White, Lila Desroses/Lukas "Grumpy Cat" Randall, William Hawkes & Kym Ladell, William Hawkes/Kym Ladell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	Broken Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> Baby it's cold outside (and in).
> 
> Thank you to Lola and my Spotify playlist.

Ardhalis winters were not known to be extremely harsh, a quality which Kieran whit admired in the city. Of course, the rare swirling of snow was to be expected, leaving a light coat of pearled ice along sprawling properties. The last true  _ blizzard  _ was noted to have hit nearly a decade ago, and forecasts held no signs of any to come. 

Thus, while at work one February evening, he had not expected to look outside and find a harsh white fog rushing through the streets. 

The police department of the Eleventh Precinct was in no way preserved from the storm, the edges of the archives were gently lit with gray, large flakes of snow whirling against a backdrop of darkened evening sky. The dusk of the storm faded further into the shelves, replaced by dim gold, the glow overhead lamps dusting desks and mountain ranges of papers.

Seated between the shelves, Kieran plowed through stacks of files, looking for something,  _ anything _ . He had decided weeks prior that, if he was stuck in the dismal archives, he would at least take advantage of his newfound resources for the sake of Lune. Unfortunately, Kieran had learned next to nothing during his stay. 

With a growl of annoyance, Kieran shoved a pointless section of papers back to its spot on the ever-expansive shelves. The detectives of this precinct was impossibly incompetent, as he had long known to be true. Intensive spy-work in the department wasn’t helping them much, either.

The other archivists paid him little mind, too engrossed in their own work to worry much about him. Not that it mattered; hopefully, he wouldn’t have to deal with them much longer.

“This is such _bullshit_ ,” he hissed, throwing open another dust covered manilla folder. “Of course they put _me_ , the only remaining person with a brain, in here to roll around in--” Kieran glanced up at the flickering of an ancient lightbulb. “I swear to God if one of those pieces of shit goes out again, I’m going to go find Sinclair and just let her kill me.”

Apparently, the limited electricity of the archives found that prospect quite compelling, and not a moment later the musty room was bathed in darkness. A discordant symphony broke out across the room, the screaming of his obnoxious coworkers mingling with the river of curses flowing through his teeth.

Kieran was grateful, in that moment, that he partook in so many illegal nighttime activities; at least his eyes were used to a lack of light. Slinking through the maze of cabinets, Kieran reached the door with little fuss, though his outpour of obscenities had yet to cease. He strolled out into the hallway, glaring at the lack of light that seemingly spanned the entire building, and it was then that he questioned why exactly he had left the archives at all. Clearly, the rest of the station was in the same condition. 

_ At least the patrol officers wouldn’t be screaming bloody murder over a lack of light. _

Kieran turned in the direction of the patrol office after a minute of contemplation, falsely assuring himself that he only sought solace from the halfwits in his workplace, and that his trek to the front of the building was in no means a journey to ensure Officer Sinclair’s wellbeing. 

“The woman hates you, anyways,” he said to himself.  _ As she should _ .

As he approached the office door, Kieran grimaced at the audible chaos. He should have known this would happen. Steeling himself against the squealing of Sergeant Ladell and the murderous screaming of who he could only assume was Officer Randall, Kieran strolled through the doorway, adopting his archivist persona with little difficulty.

The happenings in the room did not pause for him, and Kieran found himself with a front row seat to what could only be described as a shitshow, completed with a spotlight emanating from the Lieutenant’s flashlight.

Though the scene was quite a mess, Kieran’s gaze quickly found Lauren, who was hoisting up the body of an unconscious secretary Desroses. Kieran pondered for a moment if the woman was dead, but quickly decided someone would be crying if she were. His eyes then flitted up to Randall, who was seemingly enraged by the state of the woman.

" _Never in my life have I met such an insolent bitch_ ,” he howled, spittle flying in every direction imaginable. He whirled to face Hawkes, removing his hand from the gun held in his holster to point at the blonde. “ _ If you don’t get Ladell out of this department by Monday so help me God--” _

_Ah_ , _so_ _Ladell was the insolent bitch_. Kieran tuned out the ensuing screaming match between the two men; he felt a headache coming on. 

The Sergeant was scrambling to help Lauren with their indisposed coworker, having been momentarily freed from the verbal spar. Kieran watched as Kym grabbed the secretary by her feet, almost instantly dropping them and allowing the rest of the body to follow suit. Lauren looked up from the once again fallen form of Desroses, splayed across the floor at her feet, and ordered Kym to go elsewhere.

Kieran removed his gaze from the Sergeant, now sulking away from the two women, walking to his old partner in crime. He moved to rest a hand on her shoulder, to tell her he could help, but was halted by a chill at the base of his spine. His fingers were suspended in the rapidly cooling air, adjacent to pale skin, once marred by his own grasp. Kieran bit his lip, unsure of how to proceed, and froze further when Lauren began dragging the body backwards, crashing directly into his chest.

Lauren whirled around with a yelp, dropping the abused form in her arms. “Kieran! What the hell are you doing here?” Her raised voice garnered little attention from the rest of the room, thankfully, as William and Randall had somehow dragged another officer into their screaming match.

Raising his hands in a show of innocence, Kieran cleared his throat. “I er-- figured I’d check if the whole building was missing power.”

“And your walk from the archives here didn’t answer that for you?” Lauren shot him a skeptical glance. 

Taking note of the way she flinched away from his gesture, Kieran lowered his arms. “I saw what was going on and figured I’d offer help.” Lauren opened her mouth, apparently readying herself to deny his assistance. “Clearly, no one here will be of much help, and I doubt you can get Desroses all the way to the infirmary on your own.”

Lauren snorted indignantly and turned to pull Lila up from the carpet. “I can carry her just fine,  _ White.  _ I’m not weak, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious that you’d accomplish this faster if you had my help.”

Lauren stopped, looking at him in contemplation. Swallowing thickly, Kieran stood still, allowing her to consider him. 

“Fine.”

Kieran smiled slowly as he bent down to grasp Lila’s ankles, lifting her lower half in tandem with Lauren, who had looped her arms under the secretary’s. _ He was making progress _ .

Lauren stayed quiet while they walked, fixing him with a warning glare. The two paused halfway to readjust the limp body in their arms, and Kieran took the opportunity to remind himself that Desroses was not dead, only unconscious.

“What exactly happened to her?” he asked Lauren as they resumed walking, breaking the hostile silence that she had fostered since leaving the patrol office. 

Much to his surprise, Lauren laughed lightly at his question. “Kym didn’t know Lila was afraid of the dark.”

Kieran raised a brow in question. “I don’t follow.”

“Kym went up behind her-- like you did to me-- to ask a question, and Lila ended up fainting,” Lauren elaborated, punctuating with a frown. “I hope Lukas hasn’t killed Kym.”

“Oh. Would Lukas actually kill her?” Kieran couldn’t help but ask.

“You never know,” Lauren said with a shrug. “But Will’s in there, so she’s probably fine.”

Kieran let the conversation fade away after that, not wanting to ruin the pleasant air between them. A small grin plastered itself on his face the rest of the walk. Lauren was  _ talking  _ to him, even if for just a minute. He felt giddy with relief. 

_ He could fix this. _

* * *

By the time Kieran and Lauren returned from the infirmary, the air was chilling rapidly, sweeping through the halls and wrapping itself around their ankles. This was cause for a new panic in the office, especially when paired with the order given by the captain, which declared that those in the building were to hole away there at least for the time being. Lauren was informed of this when she stepped through the door frame and found herself immediately tackled by Kym.

“We’re going to die here,” the sergeant informed Lauren solemnly, shaking her shoulders with an iron grip. Lauren raised a brow at this claim, mirrored by Kieran as he came to a stop next to her. 

Lauren chose not to voice that, yes, the most feared assassin in Ardhalis was standing beside her, prepared to kill at his next order. She did, however, stand a little taller at the thought, shifting her feet in preparation for a blow she wasn’t sure would even come. Reaching for a response to the manic woman’s claim, Lauren found that her voice had caught in her tightening throat.

“You’re so  _ painfully  _ dramatic,” a voice groaned, breaking through her panic. The newly arrived William tugged at Kym’s arms, prying her from Lauren’s torso. “We aren’t going to die, it’ll just be a little cold.”

Kym whirled around to face the lieutenant, planting herself nearer to him in a subconscious seeking of warmth. “Oh, how could I forget? Lukas is out for  _ my _ head, not yours. Silly me.” 

“I doubt that Randall would actually kill you,” Kieran assured, a mischievous glint in his eye sparking when Will’s head shot up to look at him. “Now that you mention the bloke, where’s he gone?”

“He went for a walk,” Kym answered, a slight and unusual timidity in her voice. “I think he wanted to cool down after his uh-- rage session.” She paused for a moment. “Well, Will told him to.” A snicker rose from the back of the room from a new officer-- Smith, if Lauren recalled correctly.

Feeling sickened by the ease with which Kieran  _ spoke _ to them, Lauren called out to William, praying that a call to action would disperse the conversation. “So, what's the plan? The storm is still going, and I don’t think we’ll be leaving before morning at the earliest.”

Will broke away from his conversation with Kieran and Kym, eyeing the still darkening room. The sun had settled into dusk, its early descent by no means unordinary at this time of year. Assuming his position as commander of the unit, William broke from his usual quiet charm, calling out assignments to each officer he could pin. 

With a nod toward Kieran, Will fixed Lauren with a role in the small operation. “You two can look for light. Flashlights, candles, anything you can find.” He then stormed away to fulfill his own task, not before fixing Kym with an admonishing stare. 

Lauren slipped from the room, sighing with relief as Kieran strolled in the opposite direction. One lonely moment with him had been more than enough for her to handle.

While meandering through the hall, Lauren allowed herself to find comfort in the quiet brushing of snow against the glass panes lining her walk. She collected what she could, coming across only a few spare light sources and a book of matches. With a quiet huff, she quickly made her way back, illuminating the newly found lantern in her grasp. The storm still seeped through the cracks of the station, frigid air continuously crawling along the walls.

The office was no better, Lauren learned upon her return, though the added presence of her fellow officers helped her upcoming stay seem less daunting. A majority of the staff had migrated to the patrol office, having decided to flock to a central location for the night. They stood in a haphazard ring around a dismal stack of resources, clearing a path for her to deposit her findings. 

Lukas had returned and, shockingly, so had Lila. Lauren lost the opportunity to question her quick revival, as the second she opened her mouth, William rammed through the office door from behind a monumental pile of bedding.

Apparently, the department was not lacking in sheets and blankets.

The lieutenant stumbled to the nest that had formed, dropping his bounty atop the rest. He rested his hands on his hips, panting almost unnoticeably. “Alright,” he called. “Has everyone returned?” 

A wave of murmurs made its way across the room, a hushed headcount falling just short of ideal.

“...Has anyone seen Kym since she left?” Will asked, fury brewing in his gaze, visible even through the cover of quickly approaching night. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Lauren eyed Kieran, standing across from her in the circle, searching his stance for any hint of wrongdoing. She had no expectations of discovering guilt, instead looking for a clenched fist, a crimson spotted corner of his dress shirt. But she found nothing with her limited sight, only a glint of light in his fake lenses, shining from the doorway.

She turned in tandem with Will, smiling in relief at the sight of Kym, who was very obviously freezing, but unharmed.

“What the hell took you so long?” Will sputtered, pulling a flashlight from Kym’s hands. “Did you even do what I asked you to?” Kym pouted, running her fingers along the sleeves of her shirt.

“I couldn’t find any food,” she muttered, prodding the stack of linen with the toe of her boot. “Hermann and his sleepover pals must have taken everything.”

William sighed abysmally before sending a new hire down the hall to retrieve rations. “Everyone else is back, yes?”

Lauren echoed in the affirmative, along with the others. The room heaved a collective sigh at the lack of resources at their feet, looking to William for their next directions. 

Lukas coughed quietly from the back of the crowd. “It’s a crying shame Ladell didn’t die of hypothermia before returning.” 

* * *

Pulling the rough blanket from the infirmary tighter around herself, Lauren stared up at Kieran. He stood in front of her, arms crossed against his chest in a stubborn show of independence. Having denied the sheets offered to him moments ago, it was clear that Kieran had no intention of asking for them, no matter how low the temperature dropped through the night. 

“Do you need something?”

Lauren sighed in relief as Kieran crouched in front of her, the intimidating air about him fading slowly. “Well, officer, no one else in this room has a need for me. I came to keep you company.” His eyes found hers in the dim light of Lila’s cupcake scented candle, setting her nerves aflame once more.

“And why would you think I want yours?” Lauren snapped, pushing herself further against the paneling of Kym’s desk. “You’re a bother to be around.”

Behind his spectacles, Kieran’s eyes clouded with something akin to hurt. She had seen this look before, and a bitter taste, not unlike over brewed coffee, spread across her tongue at the memory. Lauren stilled her trembling fingers, grasping at the cotton gathered around her shoulders. A surge of adrenaline jolted her awake, prompted by vivid recollections of his words, her mistakes, their bruises.

“I’m aware of that fact,  _ darling. _ You need not remind me.” Kieran had more to say, Lauren knew, but he clamped his mouth shut at the call of the sergeant across the room.

“You two seem tense,” Kym said, her usual yelling subdued. “Why not hug it out?” Next to her, Will nodded, unable to argue in his state of near hibernation. The two sat together in a corner of the office, huddled amongst Kym’s hoard of blankets, a collection which Will had failed to confiscate. A haphazard mess of officers were strewn across the carpeted floor around them, some clinging to each other for warmth and others fast asleep. 

Lauren swallowed the words rising in her throat like bile, looking away. Kieran shuffled in front of her, polishing his glasses against his cotton shirt. 

“We aren’t tense at all, Ladell.  _ Cuddling _ doesn’t work for everyone.”

If pain flickered across Kym’s face, Lauren hadn’t seen it. She turned away, burying herself in quilts up to her cerulean fringe. Will shifted against the wall, glancing at Lauren with bleary eyes. 

“You two should at least sleep,” he said. “We all had a long day.” And with that, he sunk back into the linen fortress built up from the floor, fending off any further attempts at communication.

Kieran stared at her, a thin veil of fog indicating his exhales. “Would you mind… could we share that?” Clawing at her blanket-woven cowl, Lauren raised a brow.

“This?” she asked, a humorless laugh escaping and echoing across the dark office. “No. Get your own, White.” 

He flinched, pulling his sleeves further down his arm. “What happened to the kind, generous officer? You’d share with Kym if she asked, wouldn’t you?”

“Kym is my friend.” Lauren’s gaze rested on his fingertips, the same ones that had bruised her skin mere weeks ago. “I trust her.” She looked up, this time quickly finding the hurt in his eyes. But it soon faded, as if it never were, into something she couldn’t quite decode. 

“I see.” Kieran rose from the floor with a roll of his shoulders, carefully stepping over the dreaming forms littering the carpet. He disappeared into the shadows for a moment, emerging back into the moonlight with a quilt in hand.

She froze once more as he situated himself next to her, leaning on the other end of Kym’s desk. They didn’t speak as the wailing of the storm outside falling over the room. Kieran’s eyes found hers before she blew out Lila’s candle.

“Goodnight, Lauren.”

She shuddered against the desk, closing her eyes against the murk of the room. “Goodnight.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm alive wow :0 This kinda grew out of nothing, but it was lurking in the depths of my drive and I wanted to finish it. I have so many WIPs I don't even know what to say.
> 
> In other news, whoo boy school is... it's barely even started and I'm already very concerned :) But it's okay, we'll pull through. Also, I'm considering changing my pseud (much like Lola), but maybe I will, maybe I won't hehe.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I wish I had more to say, but my brain is backfiring again. Bye for now! <3


End file.
